WESTERN BLUEBIRD RELOCATION PROJECT

Bluebird fledglings take flight

posted 07/15/2009
Nearly two dozen juvenile Western bluebirds are now flitting around San Juan Island, products of weeks of incubating and insect-gathering by hard-working bluebird parents. All of these fledglings emerged from nestboxes built by volunteers and housed on private land.

Several of the adult bluebirds are already working on incubating eggs or feeding nestlings in their second brood for the season.

The Western Bluebird Relocation Project is seeking information on one family group in the Cady Mountain area. If you live in this area, please be on the lookout for adult birds and the duskier, spotted-breasted juveniles. It's quite possible with the abundance of great oak habitat on Cady Mountain that the birds have retreated to a natural nest cavity for roosting or for raising a second brood. Please report your sightings to the Western Bluebird Hotline at 360-298-2822 or after August 14 to Kathleen Foley at 360-298-1856.

Eleven pairs of adults (two pair with young in the nest that were translocated at the same time) were brought to San Juan Island from the Ft. Lewis Military Installation in 2009. Plans will be made this fall/winter for the 2010 season.

6 active Blue Bird nests on San Juan Island

Hats available with $150
donation to Bluebird project.

PRESS RELEASE: Spring has sprung, and Western bluebirds are nesting everywhere. There are currently six active nests in various stages of development: some females are still in the egg-laying process, some are incubating, and some chicks have hatched.

Most of these breeding birds are adults that returned after the fall migration south (or, possibly had overwintered here in the islands). This is most encouraging news as it is demonstrating that the birds that are born here (or raise young here) are returning on thier own to their new breeding grounds in the San Juans.

An additional nine pairs of birds were translocated to San Juan Island in 2009 from the Ft. Lewis area, adding to the population of birds that returned on thier own.

Baby Bluebirds on San Juan Island

posted 06/19/2007
PRESS RELEASE: San Juan Islands Audubon announces with great joy, the birth of three Western Bluebirds in the Bailer Hill area of San Juan Island . These are the first juvenile bluebirds seen in the San Juans since about 1965. The parents are one of eight pair of Western Bluebirds translocted from Ft. Lewis, Pierce County, Washington, in March of this year. Both parents have survived and were seen feeding the fledglings insects caught in the short grasses of Garry Oak habitat.

Many volunteers spent the early winter months building and placing nest boxes throughout San Juan County in classic bluebird feeding and breeding habitat. Western Bluebirds were once common in the San Juans but were not able to compete with non-native European Starlings for nest sites in tree cavities and disappeared about 1965. The current nest boxes have entrance holes too small for starlings but will allow bluebirds.

Where are the other seven pair of birds?
Biologists reported that three of the translocted pair returned to Ft. Lewis, some going back to the same nest boxes where they were originally trapped. Finding the fourth pair on San Juan Island raises hope that the other four pair are still in the islands or counties close by.

Help Find the Others
Nest boxes are still being monitored as the birds may raise a second batch of chicks (it is not too late to build and place a box). After the young fledge or leave the box they may be seen up to a mile away. The family will be seen traveling as a group with the heavily streaked young who resemble the adults, being fed insects by the adults. The birds make short flights from perches like fence posts, low brush and trees, to the ground looking for insects. They tend to be found in areas that combine short grasses backed by brush and woody areas.

Please let us know if you see any groups of bluebirds in the San Juans or adjacent counties. Call San Juan Islands Audubon, Barbara Jensen, 360-378-3068 or San Juan Preservation Trust, Kathleen Foley, 360-378-2461.

This five year project is sponsored by: San Juan Islands Audubon, San Juan Preservation Trust, American Bird Conservancy and EcoStudies Institute. Call if you would like to donate to or participate in this project.

Western Bluebird returned to San Juan Islands

Photo contributed by Dennis Paulson

posted 03/29/2007
PRESS RELEASE: The first eight pairs of Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) have been released on San Juan Island, thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers of the San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project.

"This is an exciting program for the many islanders who love birds," said Kathleen Foley of the San Juan Preservation Trust. "We are hopeful that someone will call in their bluebird sighting in the very near future."

A partnership consisting of the San Juan Preservation Trust, the San Juan Islands Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, the Ecostudies Institute, and partially funded by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, has been working to re-establish a breeding population of Western Bluebirds to the San Juan Islands, an area that once served as home for this native species.

The San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project will release 90 birds during the next five years. Release areas will initially be concentrated in San Juan Valley (due to its ideal bluebird habitat ). Eventually these native songbirds may be released on other islands as well.

All Islanders Encouraged to Look for Bluebirds
The Project coordinators are encouraging all islanders, especially those on San Juan Island, to keep watch for the released bluebirds. As the birds were not fitted with transmitters, the only way to determine their whereabouts will be by sightings.

Look for them in open habitat (as opposed to dense forest), perched at tops of trees and on powerlines and fencelines. If you have Garry oaks on your property, keep a watchful eye: these birds are very closely associated to this type of habitat.

To report a bluebird sighting, or to volunteer to be one of our "Bluebird Spotters" (and be assigned an area of San Juan to search regularly for the birds), contact Kathleen Foley at the San Juan Preservation Trust kathleenf@sjpt.org or 378-2461) or Barb Jensen at San Juan Islands Audubon Society skylark@rocksisland.com or 378-3068.

About the San Juan Preservation Trust Founded in 1979, the San Juan Preservation Trust is a private, non-profit land trust dedicated to helping people conserve land in the San Juan archipelago. Noted for its recent $18.5 million acquisition of Turtleback Mountain on Orcas Island, the organization has permanently protected more than 220 properties, 26 miles of shoreline, and 12,000 acres on 18 islands, including land now managed as public parks, private nature preserves, and working farms and forests. www.sjpt.org

About the American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC draws on people and organizations through bird conservation networks to identify the most critical issues affecting birds in the Americas. It builds coalitions of conservation groups, scientists, and the public to tackle conservation priorities using the best skills and expertise available. www.abcbirds.org

About the SJ Islands Audubon Society The San Juan Islands have thier own local chapter of the National Audubon Society; National Audubon's mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. www.audubon.org

About the Ecostudies Institute The mission of the Ecostudies Institute, a non-profit organization, is to improve the understanding of ecological systems and the species that inhabit them and to promote conservation, management, and restoration efforts that protect and maintain native biodiversity. Researchers from EI led a successful Eastern Bluebird reintroduction project in the Everglades, FL, after which this project is modeled. www.ecoinst.org

Western bluebird returning to San Juan Islands

Partnership Formed to Reintroduce Native Island Species

posted 01/26/2007
The San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project will release 90 birds during the next five years. Release areas will initially be concentrated in San Juan Valley (due to its ideal bluebird habitat). Eventually birds may be released on Lopez Island as well.

A partnership consisting of the San Juan Preservation Trust, the San Juan County Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy and the Ecostudies Institute, is working to re-establish a breeding population of Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) to the San Juan Islands, an area that once served as home for this native species.

Volunteer Opportunities

There are many ways in which islanders can participate in this exciting project. A “Bluebird House Party” will be held on Thursday, February 8 at 10am in Friday Harbor; help is needed to construct 50-100 bluebird boxes and 3-4 aviaries. Additionally, the partnership is looking for landowners in San Juan Valley (and other areas on San Juan Island) who are interested in placing nest boxes on their property. There are also many other ways to get involved—from assisting with bird tracking, nest box placement and nest box monitoring to donations of building materials. To learn more about the project, details on the Bluebird House Party, or other ways to help, please contact Kathleen Foley, Education Coordinator at the San Juan Preservation Trust (kathleenf@sjpt.org or 378-2461) or Barb Jensen at San Juan County Audubon (skylark@rocksisland.com or 378-3068).

Western Bluebirds Once Common in the San Juans

Western Bluebirds were considered common in the San Juan Islands up until the 1930s. The last reports of any bluebird nesting activity was in 1964, and bluebirds have been seen only rarely in the islands since that time. The loss of this native songbird locally has been attributed to a lack of nesting sites (through either habitat alteration or competition with non-native birds).

There is good news, however. Bluebirds are cavity-nesters that will adapt readily to nest boxes in the absence of natural cavities. Nestbox programs to replace the loss of cavities in snags have been used successfully to restore bluebird populations in many areas of North America. The San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project hopes to achieve the same level of success on San Juan Island by translocating breeding pairs of bluebirds from a healthy, viable population at the Ft. Lewis prairie near Tacoma in early March .

About the San Juan Preservation Trust

A private, non-profit, membership-supported land trust founded in 1979 to help people conserve land in the San Juan archipelago. The Preservation Trust has permanently protected more than 200 properties, 24 miles of shoreline, and 11,800 acres on 17 islands, including land now managed as public parks, private nature reserves, and working farms and forests.

About the American Bird Conservancy

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC draws on people and organizations through bird conservation networks to identify the most critical issues affecting birds in the Americas. It builds coalitions of conservation groups, scientists, and the public to tackle conservation priorities using the best skills and expertise available.

About the SJC Audubon Society

San Juan County has its own local chapter of the National Audubon Society; National Audubon's mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.

About the Ecostudies Institute

The mission of the Ecostudies Institute, a non-profit organization, is to improve the understanding of ecological systems and the species that inhabit them and to promote conservation, management, and restoration efforts that protect and maintain native biodiversity. Researchers from EI led a successful Eastern Bluebird reintroduction project in the Everglades, FL, after which this project is modeled.

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